How to Move a Safe: Vancouver Movers

Vancouver Movers Professional Safe Movers: 6 Tips on How to Move a Safe

Moving a safe can be dangerous, not to mention difficult. We’re not talking about moving the tiny safes you buy at your local office supply store. Large and heavy safes, such as gun safes or fire safes, weighing upwards of 600 pounds can pose a lot of threat when moved unprofessionally. As professional safe movers in Vancouver BC, we can offer some tips that could save you a lot of grief.

Here are things you should know before taking on the endeavor to move a safe:

Use the right equipment: if you are moving a safe up or down a story you will need special equipment, such as a stair climbing dolly or even a hoist or hydraulic jack. Yes, we mean that you might need to rent a machine to move your safe!

Get the right amount of help: moving a safe is not something you can do on your own. You will need at least four strong people to help you, or professional movers.

Be insured: when you move a safe, you should first check your warranty to make sure that you will still be covered for any damage if you transport it without using a professional Vancouver mover. Keep in mind that moving professionals are insured which means your safe (and your investment) is covered.

Protect the building: if you are moving the safe up a flight of stairs, you will need to consult with a building expert to make sure you are not putting too much weight on the steps while you and your team are doing the job. Consider that it is not just the safe putting weight on the stairs, it is also the heavy-duty dolly, plus all the people involved. And every time you go up a step you will be applying pressure to the frame. If you don’t use enough strength to go up, your load may fall back down in a heavy thump. In short, you may need temporary support structures for your move.

Protect yourself, and your wallet: while in theory you would think that you can save money by moving the safe on your own, you actually may not. Renting the right equipment can cost hundreds of dollars, probably the same amount to just hire a professional. Not only that, because of the danger involved, doing it for the first time without experience or training might not result in the best scenario when a safe falls on you or one of your movers.

Getting the safe off the pallet: If your safe is sitting on a pallet, you will need to make sure that a) it is a heavy-duty pallet so that the wood does not crack due to the weight and b) you correctly slide it off the pallet to move it. To do this, you will need two rods and strong men. Tilt the safe on its side and place the rods underneath, one about mid way and one about 25% distance from the edge. Tile the safe back, so that it is sitting on the rods. Use the rods as temporary rolling devices to stroll the safe off the pallet. It will fall on a tilt again, this time on the ground. That is when you carefully remove the pallet from underneath, making sure there are movers on the other side to catch the safe and slowly place it on the floor. You may want to use this same trick, only transfer the safe onto a rolling device.

All in all, remember your common sense. Take your belongings out of the safe before moving it, and for security reasons, don’t transport it publicly. Make sure the truck you are using does not indicate that valuables are going to be stored at its destination. Keep the safe secured tightly to its dolly, rollers or hoist and make sure all the opening parts are locked closed so no one gets their fingers caught!